Tessa and Luke head for the bar, not ready to call it a night yet. Ben takes Chase back to the room while I let Nolan hear one final song.
The last note plays. My little dancer looks ready to drop.
I scoop Nolan up into my arms and carry him through the small crowd, his body immediately going limp with exhaustion and melting against mine.
God, I love this little boy.
I press gentle kisses to his cheek, smelling the sand and saltwater on his skin. When I’m almost at our villa, I reach into my back pocket, carefully balancing Nolan in one arm so I can pull out my keycard and not disturb him.
I step up to the door. The sound of one closing behind me draws my attention over my shoulder.
Riley emerges from the villa beside ours, the ivory strapless dress she’s wearing looking a little more wrinkled than it should. Her hair tangled, half coming out of the jeweled clip she was securing it up with, and feet bare. Her sandals tucked under her arm.
She looks like someone who’s just had wild, uninhibited sex.
That’s odd. Why would she look like someone who’s just had wild, uninhibited sex? Isn’t her boyfriend at home?
I look at the side of the villa, then at her again, and it dawns on me, exactly who is sleeping in that villa this weekend.
Not Reed and Beth. Not Luke and Tessa. And definitely not Riley.
My eyes widen.
Oh, shit.
Riley lifts her head with a gasp, finally noticing me standing here, her eyes doubling in size and somehow looking more startled than mine.
I stare at her. She stares at me.
An exchange happens between us, a silent plea from her mouth to my ears.
Don’t tell Reed. Please, Mia.
With a frantic shake of her head, Riley turns and hurries down the footpath, disappearing around the bend.
“Hey.”
I yelp, startled by the deep voice behind me, my hands squeezing Nolan a little tighter as he stirs in my arms.
Spinning around, I gather my breath and smile shakily at Reed. “God, you scared me.”
“I can see that.”
He glances over my shoulder, then draws his eyes back to my face.
I relax when I don’t notice any suspicion in his stare.
Wow. What incredible timing. Five seconds earlier and Riley would’ve been totally busted.
“Have you seen Riley?”
FUCK.
I blink at him. “Um, who?”
Reed breathes a laugh, giving me an odd look. “Riley. My sister. Angry blonde who is out to kill me.” He rakes a hand through his hair and looks out over the beach. “I wanted to apologize but she’s not in her room. Think she might still be at the bar?”
I nod when he turns back to me. “Absolutely. Yep. I’m certain that’s where she is. Why would she be over here? That’s just crazy.”
Again, Reed cocks his head, his eyebrow lifting in curiosity.
Oh, my God, Mia. You would make a terrible spy. Stop talking.
“Yeah, all right.” Reed nods. He looks convinced. “I’m going to go look for her. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He walks down the path in the direction of the bar.
I collapse against the door the second Reed disappears from my sight.
My pulse is racing, fluttering like hummingbird wings beneath my ear. My skin feels a little clammy.
I hate secrets. And I am not taking on this burden alone. No, thank you. If I’m going to freak out, someone else is going to freak out right along with me.
Unlocking the door, I push into the room and spot Ben on the bed.
“CJ and Riley just had sex. Wild, all over the room kind of sex. I’m sure of it.”
Ben glances up briefly from the T.V., then resumes watching. His shoulder jerks. “I could’ve called that.”
His tone is cavalier. Completely unaffected.
It baffles me. Does he not know how this will end?
I carry Nolan over to the bed and lay him down next to Chase, tucking him under the covers. Moving around to the other side, I straddle Ben’s lap and block his view of whatever show is captivating him more than this unbelievable drama.
“Do you know what’s going to happen when Reed finds out?”
“Who said Reed has to find out?”
I gape at him. “If they start dating, you don’t think it’ll be obvious?”
Ben snorts, pulling my waist and drawing me closer. “Maybe they just wanted to fuck. People do that, Mia. It ain’t always about being in a relationship with someone.”
I arch my brow.
He hovers his mouth over mine. “Unless it’s you and me.”
“Good save,” I whisper, leaning in and kissing him slowly, forgetting about anything outside of this room and once again being all-consumed by this man. “I want to do more than this, but I think we better let the boys sleep.”
His hands roam down my back to my ass, squeezing me there. “Yeah,” he murmurs.
“You going to be okay with just a kiss right now?”
His breathing pauses.
Leaning back, Ben takes my face between his hands and runs his thumb over my lip, smearing the moisture there and staring at my mouth.
“Yeah. That’s one helluva kiss, Georgia.”
I blink, my own breath catching somewhere in my throat as I remember that night at the bar and those words and Ben, his beautiful face squinting across the parking lot, gaze narrowing in on my old license plate before he took me home and I never left.
He didn’t know who I was. I didn’t think I knew him. But we were wrong.